Category Archives: WOMEN’S EQUALITY

International Women’s Day: Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

On International Women’s Day: Why challenging the narrative is more important than ever

In this insightful Q&A with Maha Batran, WILPF’s MEL & Partnerships Advisor, she delves into the heart of the Palestinian struggle, exploring its historical roots, the ongoing challenges faced by Palestinians, and the importance of challenging prevailing narratives. Through candid reflections and expert analysis, she uncovers the gendered impact of occupation, the nuances of Palestinian resistance, and the global solidarity movements demanding justice and accountability.

What are the root causes of all this strouggle? And how are women affected?

In 1948 the State of Israel was created marking the end of the British Mandate of Palestine. 1948 year is also known as Nakba where armed Jewish/Zionist groups ethnically cleansed Palestinians  in parts of the land. They not only killed tens of thousands of Palestinians but also forcefully displaced more than 700,000 Palestinians out of their homes into the West Bank, Gaza and the neighbouring countries. My father’s family was kicked out from their home in Jaffa and settled in Gaza in 1948. Israel occupied the rest of historic Palestine in 1967, to include East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank where I now live. 

For decades, UN General Assembly resolutions were passed protecting the rights of the Palestinians and demanding Israel stop its colonial project and oppression. This includes UN Resolution 194, on the protection of the Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbours, or receive compensation. Those resolutions remain on paper. I personally remain a refugee in Palestine without the right to visit, let alone settle in Jaffa. Meanwhile any Jew from around the world can come (and be financed and encouraged) to settle in Jaffa.

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (internationally-recognised representative of the Palestinian people) and the State of Israel signed a peace treaty, the Oslo Accords in 1993. The agreement stipulated a transitional five-year period for a Palestinian Interim Self-Government arrangement to end with a permanent arrangement where Palestinians have the right to self-determination and peace, living side-by-side with Israel. This transitional period ended with no handing of power to the Palestinians over the West Bank and Gaza as prescribed by the Accords. On the contrary, increased Israeli control, land grab and settlers inside the West Bank grew exponentially. The peace negotiations failed. I have seen it with my own eyes, the settlement on the hill across from our home was just expanding, the checkpoints between town and cities in the West Bank multiplied, and we had absolutely no sovereignty, no control over the land, the water resources, the air, the borders, building permits, nothing. Palestinians couldn’t accept this. Who would have? 

We have witnessed daily violations of human rights, international law and crimes against humanity and war crimes towards Palestinians. These have been recorded by International, Palestinian and Israeli human rights organisations and commissions in the West Bank, Gaza and Israel, including deeming the occupation illegal under international law (and now an advisory opinion is being sought about the issue at the International Court of Justice) and exposing the crime of a system of apartheid by the State of Israel. 

The Israeli policies that victimise and discriminate against the Palestinian people have a clear gendered impact as they isolate Palestinian women, impoverish them, limit their rights and freedoms and inhibit their participation in the public political, cultural, social and economic spheres. The occupation and apartheid state policies have huge effects on women’s legal, social, educational, economic and political status, as well as their priorities, access to services especially for girls and women victims of gender-based violence, and their available options for resistance.

Learn more

For further resources on the history of Palestine and Israel visit the UN page

Other resources can be found here.

You can read more about the impact of occupation on Palestinian women WILPF’s analysis

Also this by Palestinian women’s organisations.

This statement by UN experts on the recent human rights violations by Israel towards Palestinian girls and women.

And what has the situation been in Gaza until the current escalation of violence?

The situation for Palestinians has been deteriorating over time, and Palestinians living in Gaza have been under a blockade since 2007. Actually, I haven’t been able to visit Gaza since 1999 because the Israeli state wouldn’t give me a permit. So technically, the siege has been enforced since then. And Gaza’s living conditions have worsened over the past decades. Gazans and activists have tried to resist in non-violent means. The Freedom Flotillas launched by international solidarity groups which use international waters to try and cross to Gaza in boats.  The Great March of Return towards the Gazan border with Israel where refugees (who account for 70% of the population in Gaza) marched every Friday towards the borders in a symbolic move to break the siege of Gaza and exercise their right to return to their land were specific examples of initiatives to try and break the blockade of Gaza and bring world attention to the situation in Gaza.  However, the international and political response to these attempts was little. Military groups in Gaza launched rocket attacks from Gaza onto neighbouring Israeli territories, and Israel launched six large military assaults (2008-2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, 2022, and 2023) with thousands killed. But the siege persisted. 

The current escalation of violence, the continued blockade, the failure to deliver on commitments in the peace process has been enabled through the longtime impunity of  the Israeli army and officials committing crime after crime with no accountability or consequences. Gaza was often described as a ticking bomb, with over two million people living in what was often described as an open-air prison, and continuously under attack. 

WILPF’s campaigning has called on allies to challenge the narrative around the conflict. Why is that important and what does this mean?

Western media frames the cause of the Palestinians as a complicated conflict, with two-people not being able to live side by side and co-exist. It also uses language of supremacy and dehumanisation. A narrative that fails to acknowledge the history of the land and its people, the humanity and equality of Palestinians and the dynamics and drivers of the violence and injustice. This narrative has thus far and will certainly fail to produce effective strategies to address the situation. This is why it is important that we reframe the narrative of the conflict and name practices and dynamics by their proper names and put them in the right context.

Historically, but also increasingly with the latest events, Palestinians have been dehumanised with Western media passively reporting on their suffering (Israelis are often reported as being “killed” while Palestinians are reported “having died” and often blamed for their own death), so that they are portrayed as less important human beings and more “killable”. This language of supremacy, and “God providing this land to God’s chosen people” has been long heard from Israeli officials and supporters; it is also the foundation of the Zionist project. The“birth-right” project where any Jew is supported (financially and logistically) to visit Israel and settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and settle there is just one example of how the colonial project, in the name of the “right of the Jewish people to the land”, is justified and defended through narrative. Palestinian refugees who have been kicked out of their land when the State of Israel was created, have been denied the same “right”. WILPF and others have been challenging this narrative. 

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for a version in French.)

Questions related to this article:

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

(Article continued from left column)

We often hear that other oppressed peoples may have the right cause but are going out demanding it in the ‘wrong way’. This is faced by Palestinians too. 

It’s important to start by emphasising that people’s right to resist occupation is protected by the Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, and a dozen UN resolutions, including UNGA Resolution 37/43 which stated the legitimacy of the struggle for independence, and liberation from foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle. This means that Palestinians have the right to resist the illegal Israeli occupation, with all available means. Armed struggle needs to also abide by international law (which for example, prohibits the targeting of civilians). It is also important to also acknowledge that labelling a person or a group for resisting occupation or oppression by “terrorist” or their acts as “terrorist acts” has been a long established practice, some of these labels were later revised such as the cases with Yasser Arafat  led violent attacks and later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.Nelson Mandela was considered one of the greatest peacemakers after successfully fighting apartheid with violent and non-violent means. Those who have the power to have their views accepted and create the narrative also have the power to label and mislabel.

People ask “Why is there no Mandela in Palestine?” How do you respond to those kinds of critiques of Palestinian resistance and leadership? 

We Palestinians have peacefully resisted Israel’s occupation and human rights abuse through countless persistent initiatives ranging from Youth movements, union organising, arts and culture, popular marches, and political initiatives. For example, the Youth Against Settlements which is most active in Hebron in the West Bank, where Israeli settlers are slowly taking over Palestinian homes in the heart of the city protected by soldiers; the Great March of Return; the Freedom Flotillas; the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Movement which is replicated from the South African anti-apartheid movement, and which was endorsed by WILPF in a resolution in 2011; and most recently, global movement around the world calling for a ceasefire in Gaza but also to dismantle the apartheid system and end the occupation.

However, the clamp down on any such attempts at resistance was violent and almost inevitable (see for example, Amnesty International’s Trigger Happy Report). The chance that leaders survive Israel’s systematic and widespread targeting of peaceful resistance is virtually nonexistent. Israel has a long history of the use of collective punishment and excessive force including the assassination of Palestinian activists, journalists, poets, politicians and systematically penalised others, including children, through measures such as the illegal prolonged administrative detention denying Palestinians basic judicial guarantees, such as the case of academic Ahmad Qatamesh.

For further resources on the Palestinian right to resist, visit the legal analysis and the FAQs that WILPF contributed to on Gaza and international law.

There have been many countries and institutions that have cracked down on and even criminalised pro-Palestinian activism in the name of fighting anti-semitism.  Does the resistance of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals to Israeli (State and settlers) oppression of Palestinians amount to anti-semitism?  

No. There is a difference between standing up against human rights violations by the Israeli army and settlers, and anti-semitism. 

Anti-semitism is not acceptable. However, advocating for Palestinian rights does not make you anti-semitic. If you believe in equality and justice, you are not anti-semitic. Palestinians and supporters of Palestinian rights recognise that there are root causes for all the violence (which is the continuation of the Israeli colonial project of dispossession and the apartheid system of oppression) and this needs to be addressed. 

The Israeli state and pro-Israeli propaganda have tried to frame and taint supporters and advocates of Palestinian rights as anti-semitic so that they are immediately suppressed on false moral ground. Many Jewish groups and activists are resisting the pro-Israeli efforts to falsely equate critiques of Israel with anti-semitism and are seeking to disentangle Jewish identity and liberation from Zionism and the Israeli state.  

These include Jewish Israelis and Israeli organisations exposing and standing up against Israeli State violations of human rights and international law, including B’tselem, Yesh Din, and HaMoked. There are also Jewish Israeli individuals, such as authors and historians Illan Pappe and Avi Shlaim, who have dedicated their work to help expose the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the Zionist project. There is Amira Hass, the Israeli journalist and daughter of Holocaust survivors living in the West Bank amongst Palestinians also writing to expose Israeli violations especially in the West Bank.

Jewish voices around the world who oppose Israel’s actions against Palestinians, including Jewish Voice for Peace (visit JVP FAQs for further information about their stands particularly on questions around not equating the Jewish identity of the group with zionism and anti-semitism), and individuals, such as jewish intellectuals and authors Naomi Klein and Judith Butler. 

There is a difference between being anti-semitic, and standing up for justice, accountability, equality and freedom. One should be able to speak the truth, fight for the protection of human rights, an oppression-free, colonial-free and apartheid-free world without fear. 

There have been different kinds of solidarity and peace efforts over the years by civil society and peace activists. What kind of solidarity is helpful to the Palestinians and the Palestinian cause? 

Not all peacebuilding efforts have been helpful to Palestinians and the Palestinian cause. Approaches to peacebuilding that buy into a false narrative of ‘two peoples that can’t get along’ will inevitably produce ineffective and even harmful results. Solidarity and peace activists must differentiate between coexistence and co-resistance, between solidarity and normalisation, between exposing the violations of human rights and international law and between overstepping those in favour of “a peace solution between two people”.

Coexistence, which is usually promoted through activities such as camps or dialogue sessions between Israelis and Palestinians, is about normalising the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed. Normalisation activities are often referred to as the “colonisation of the mind” where the oppressor-oppressed relationship and status quo are seen as normal, with some cosmetic improvements. These activities proliferated during the Oslo period (1994-1999), but because the root causes were not addressed, they failed. And while some people, and some self-proclaimed feminists, support normalisation activities, these are not accepted by the majority of Palestinians, will remain in the margins of the real struggle, and will not bring justice. 

Co-resistance, on the other hand, acknowledges that the oppressor and the oppressed are not on equal footing, and that history, particularly Israel’s foundation through the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, is well recognised. It demands the recognition and assertion of the inalienable rights of Palestinians, including the right to return.

The BDS has set very clear definitions and guidelines for anti-normalisation activities. They also have tailored guidelines for the different sectors and groups. These should always be consulted with.  

Final word?

This conflict, our conflict is about a settler-colonial state enforcing a military occupation and an apartheid regime. The world  has witnessed a state commit a livestreamed genocide.  Many of their leaders are complicit, along with the international mechanisms that have failed to stop it. In response, they have risen. This movement has inspired the government of South Africa to bravely take Israel to the World Court for the Crime of Genocide. 

This global movement is demanding accountability from all complicit governments, institutions, and corporations. The movement is growing and trying to shake the world order today. Gazans have lost so much themselves, but the world sees Gaza as a global front against the rule of oppression, colonialism, and tyranny, so they act in solidarity with Gazans and for justice for all including themselves.  

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International Women’s Day: The Warriors of Peace

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

Text from Facebook page of Guerrières de la Paix – Mouvement 

This International Women’s Day has a special flavor. We know to what extent wars and conflicts can destroy struggles and weaken achievements.

We, The Warriors of Peace, are convinced that women, when they unite, form the most powerful shield against the destruction of the world. We are the resistance. We are the ones who hold on, who stay standing.

We, The Warriors of Peace, are a French pacifist and anti-racist movement bringing together Muslim, Jewish, Christian, atheist, practicing and unbelieving women of different origins and different cultures.

We are part of the pacifist movements of Palestinian and Israeli women.

They themselves had already been inspired by the movement founded by women in Liberia in 2003 to work towards an end to the civil war.

It is this chain of international solidarity of women that we wanted to extend when we organized the first edition, on March 8, 2023, of the Global Women’s Forum for Peace in Essaouira, Morocco. The event brought together activists from around the world, including Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2003, as well as Moroccan, Afghan, Syrian, Palestinian, Israeli, Uighur, Rwandan activists, etc.

On October 4, we participated in the “Mothers’ Call” march in Jerusalem alongside thousands of Palestinian and Israeli women, activists for peace and justice.

These women, beyond the walls erected to separate them and teach them to hate each other, gave the whole world a lesson in sisterhood, by walking together, hand in hand.

On October 7, 2023, the world turned upside down. Not our commitments. Nor our beliefs.

On October 7, the first images of the massacre were images of violence against women. The bodies of Israeli women exhibited, raped, mutilated and murdered were among the first images of horror to flood the Internet. Hamas terrorists boasted live about their feminicides. And, today, we dare not imagine what the women who are still hostages must endure on a daily basis.

Not condemning these crimes, not naming them is a moral fault. A lack of respect for our feminism.

From the start of the destructive bombardments by the Israeli army on the Gaza Strip, among the first images of horror, there were also defenseless women, mothers and children under the rubble. Women are at the heart of the humanitarian drama that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies are inflicting on Gaza.

We stand with our Palestinian sisters who are paying the heavy price of war crimes, mourning and destruction. We think of the pain inflicted on them by having to leave their homes, of seeing their children starving, of those mothers who bury their children with broken hearts, of those who had to give birth in terrible conditions amidst chaos and bombings.

We women cannot consent to the dehumanization of our sisters wherever they come from. The suffering of some in no way relativizes that of others and we must be able to recognize them all.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original article in French.)

Questions related to this article:

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Article continued from left column)

It is important that we are also able to name all the crimes, and to be in solidarity with the horror experienced by our Israeli and Palestinian sisters. In times of war, women are on the front lines. Because they embody life, they are targets to be destroyed. It is therefore urgent that they take their full place at the negotiating table.

It is with this awareness that UN Resolution 1325 was adopted with the objective of increasing the participation of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, as well as in peacebuilding.

Women must be heard, recognized and involved. Moreover, when they are, peace comes more quickly and is more stable and more lasting.

Ensuring that women’s rights are respected everywhere is our all responsibility. If a woman is oppressed, wherever she is in the world, it is all of our rights that are violated.

Together we denounce femicide and violence against women, here and everywhere.

Our empathy, our indignation knows neither determinism nor assignment.

We denounce the inhumane treatment inflicted on our sisters in Afghanistan deprived of education, care and rights.

We stand alongside Iranian women who with incredible courage continue to challenge the power of the mullahs.

We stand alongside our Uyghur sisters who are victims of genocide and systematic rape committed in Chinese camps.

We think of our sisters who continue to live through terrible days in Congo, the scene of massacres of ethnic minorities, feminicides and mass rapes.

We think of our Armenian sisters, of the violence they suffered and of the exile which once again strikes them.

We think of our Ukrainian sisters, of the sexual violence that many of them endured, of their children kidnapped and deported to Russia.

We think of the Russian opponents forced to live in exile.

We think of the humanitarian chaos of which girls and women are the first victims in Sudan.

And unfortunately the list is still far too long.

We, the Warriors of Peace, will continue to stand, proud and determined, alongside all oppressed women, alongside all our persecuted sisters, everywhere in the world.

It is about our feminism. Of our duty as humanity.

Feminism is justice, equality and dignity for all. It is the refusal of assignment and division.

Feminism is peace.

JOIN US!
MARCH 8 – 6:30 p.m.
TOWN HOTEL SQUARE – PARIS

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International Women’s Day: The Americas

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

A press survey by CPNN

In order to gather photos from the celebration of International Women’s Day, we put the following phrases into the google search engine:
° women’s day photos 2024
° Photos “Journée internationale de la femme” 2024
° Fotos”Día Internacional de la Mujer” 2024
° Fotos “Dia Internacional da Mulher” 2024

Here are the results from the Americas.

ARGENTINA


The center of Buenos Aires on Friday evening during the celebration of International Women’s Day. JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI (EFE) (from El País)

BERMUDA

The Government kicked of its celebration of International Women’s Day [IWD] with the Public Service IWD Wellness Walk around Hamilton earlier this week, with a number of female Public Service employees taking part, including the Governor, Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors and Head of the Public Service Cherie Whitter. The Government has prepared a series of activities throughout the week aimed at recognizing and celebrating the contributions of women in the public service under the theme #InspireInclusion. (from Bernews)

BOLIVIA

Women shouts slogans against gender-based violence during an International Women’s Day march in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, March 8, 2024. AP Photo/Juan Karita (from APNews)

BRAZIL

People take part in a march in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil March 8. A banner reads “Stop to femicide. Legalization of abortion.” REUTERS/Tita Barros (From Reuters)


PETERBOROUGH, CANADA

Kawartha World Issues Centre and Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre rallied and marched in Downtown Peterborough for International Women’s Day from Peterborough Square to City Hall on Friday afternoon. Photo by David Tuan Bui. (from PTBO Canada)

VANCOUVER, CANADA

Various groups gather outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday March 3, 2024 for speeches followed by a march for International Women’s Day. (CityNews Image) (from Vancouver City News)

CHILE


Protesters march in groups in the commemoration of International Women’s Day in Santiago. SOFIA YANJARI. (from El País)

COLOMBIA

A woman attends an International Women’s Day event with a red handprint across her mouth, a symbolic representation of murdered and missing Indigenous women, in Bogota, Colombia, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) (from APNews)

ECUADOR


People take part in a march in Quito, Ecuador, March 8. REUTERS/Karen Toro (From Reuters)

GUATEMALA


Young people in Guatemala City release green smoke in the Plaza de la Constitución. DAVID TORO (EFE). (from El País)

HONDURAS

Tegucigalpa, Honduras. International Women’s Day was marked with street actions Fot: Gustavo Amado/EPA (from Renascença)

Question related to this article:
 
Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

MEXICO


More than 180,000 protesters marched through Mexico City demanding access to justice and freedom from violence and fear. Some carried photos of people they were accusing of rape or violence. Other banners demanded that girls grow up without violence and drew attention to missing and murdered women. [Lexie Harrison-Cripps/Al Jazeera] (From Al Jazeera)

PANAMA


Women participate during marches in commemoration of International Women’s Day in Panama City, Panama, 08 March 2024. (from EPA Images)

PERU


Protesters dance during the protest in Lima (Peru). ANGELA PONCE (REUTERS)Argentina. (from El País)



PUERTO RICO


Shouting: “Vivas nos queremos”, “Nosotras parimos, nosotras decidimos” o “¡Qué viva la lucha feminista!” (“We love each other alive”, “We give birth, we decide” or “Long live the feminist struggle!”), two marches toured the streets of the capital of Puerto Rico, this March 8. RICARDO ARDUENGO (REUTERS). (from El País)

UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK

Address by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2024. (frame from video of UN television)


CHICAGO, UNITED STATES

In Chicago, the day before International Women’s Day, CODEPINK, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Chicago Area Peace Action dropped a banner over the Chicago river that read: Feminists Say No to War with accompanying signs demanding negotiations in Ukraine and cooperation with China. (from Codepink)


SEATTLE, UNITED STATES

People chant as they walk down John Street on Capitol Hill during a march for International Working Women’s Day on Friday, March 8, in Seattle. Speeches portrayed Palestinian liberation as a “feminist imperative.” (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times) (from the Seattle Times)

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES

On March 8th, 2023, peace activists in DC made a large human peace sign in the rotunda, a banner demanding “Peace NOW” was unfurled from an upper level. The group in the rotunda formed a human peace sign donned with pink parasols and peacefully sang “Give Peace A Chance.” The human peace sign and the “Peace NOW” banner were followed up by office visits to Congresswomen who initially signed the Progressive Caucus letter to Biden demanding he pursue a path to negotiations to end the Russia/Ukraine War. (from Codepink)


Women march in Montevideo (Uruguay), this March 8. MARIANA GREIF (REUTERS). (from El País)

VENEZUELA


Women participate in a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela, March 8. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa. (from Reuters)

International Women’s Day: Africa and Middle East

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

A press survey by CPNN

In order to gather photos from the celebration of International Women’s Day, we put the following phrases into the google search engine:
° women’s day photos 2024
° Photos “Journée internationale de la femme” 2024
° Fotos”Día Internacional de la Mujer” 2024
° Fotos “Dia Internacional da Mulher” 2024

Here are the results from Africa and the Middle East.

ALGERIA

The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) organized a meeting in Algiers on Wednesday to celebrate International Women’s Day, during which it reaffirmed its solidarity with Palestinian women against Zionist aggression. (from Dzair Scoop, l’Algérie au Quotidien)

AZERBAIJAN


Baku, Azerbaijan. Activists hold a rally in support of women’s rights. Photograph: Aziz Karimov/Reuters (from The Guardian)

CAMEROON

Women parade on International Women’s Day in Yaounde, Cameroon, on March 8, 2024. Women from all walks of life participated in the parade here on Friday. Photo by Kepseu/Xinhua (from Xinhua)

CÔTE D’IVOIRE


The women’s union of the National Investment Bank (UNIFEM) organized on Friday March 8, 2024 in Abidjan, a conference-debate on the theme “The challenges of development of women: professional, family and psychological challenges. (from News Abidjan)

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO


All dressed in black on the occasion of International Women’s Day, women from civil society, state civil servants, small traders, politicians, teachers, students and other social strata walk peacefully from the bridge Mulongwe to Unity Stadium. To the rhythm of mourning, accompanied by the melodies of Christian songs, these women carry banners and posters on which we can read: “The women of South Kivu demand an end to hostilities in the east of the DRC to increase the resources necessary for an equal Congo. We say no to the balkanization of the DRC. » (from Le Journal Africa

IRAQ


Baghdad, Iraq. Women chant slogans at a gathering on Al-Mutanabbi street in the city’s historic centre. Photograph: Ahmed Jalil/EPA (from The Guardian)

ISRAEL


A group of women stand along the beach, commemorating International Women’s Day by calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 8, 2024. AP Photo/Oded Balilty (from AP News)

KENYA

Radio Africa Group staff celebrating International Women’s Day at their offices in Nairobi March 8, 2024.. Image: COLLINS APUDO (from The Star, Kenya)

LEBANON


Women carry banners and flags during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza in front of the UN Women office in Sin El Fil, Lebanon, March 8. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (from Reuters)

Question related to this article:
 
Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

MALI

As part of the celebration of March 8, International Women’s Day, the delegation of the European Union to Mali in partnership with the Association of Malian Lawyers, organized a conference-debate on Thursday March 7, 2024, at the campus of the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropical Areas (ICRISAT) in Samanko. The event, focused on the theme “Women, Land and Economic Power: Crossed Perspectives between Positive Law and Customary Law”, brought together an attentive audience. (from Mali Web)

MOROCCO

Rabat – The Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM) celebrated International Women’s Day on Friday in Rabat, under the theme of “the role of women in conflict management”. (from the Agence Marocaine de Presse

PALESTINE

Thousands of Palestinian women have taken to the streets for International Women’s Day in an attempt to shed light on the issue of incarcerated women who have had their fundamental rights taken away from them. The marches took place in several areas of the Gaza Strip and eventually met in front of the United Nations office. Women carried banners and demanded their right to work, healthcare, and education and called for an improvement to the country’s economy. Photo: Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor (from the Middle East Monitor)

SENEGAL

March 8 was celebrated with pomp by the women of the Sédhiou region, following the example of the international community which dedicates this date to the platform of women’s rights. Under the authority of the Minister of Senegalese Abroad, Dr Annette Seck Ndiaye, also President of the Sédhiou Departmental Council, these women examined the generic theme chosen this year, “Investing in women, accelerating the pace ”, from different angles. Respect for rights, access to business opportunities and the fight against irregular migration were the highlights of this day. (from Sud Quotidien of Senegal

SOUTH AFRICA

Johannesburg, South Africa. Protesters hold placards during a demonstration organised by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies in support of female hostages taken by Hamas militants. Photograph: Olympia de Maismont/AFP/Getty (from The Guardian)

TUNISIA


Women take to the streets in Tunisia for International Women’s Day to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. One sign reads, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to feminism everywhere.” (from the Twitter page of BT Newsroom)

TURKEY


A demonstrator poses before the police barriers near Taksim Square, Istanbul, Turkey, March 8. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya (from Reuters)

UGANDA

Ministers at the Women’s Day Celebration in Katakwi, Uganda. Credit Godfrey Ojore. (from New Vision Uganda)

International Women’s Day: Asia/Pacific

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

A press survey by CPNN

In order to gather photos from the celebration of International Women’s Day, we put the following phrases into the google search engine:
° women’s day photos 2024
° Photos “Journée internationale de la femme” 2024
° Fotos”Día Internacional de la Mujer” 2024
° Fotos “Dia Internacional da Mulher” 2024

Here are the results from Asia/Pacific.

AFGHANISTAN


A collective group of Afghan women hid their faces and chanted “No to gender apartheid” and “Afghanistan is hell for women.” (frame from AP News video)

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA


A purple wave swept through Darwin city as more than 1000 Territorians turned out to march for women’s rights – with some attendees making a special trip for the occasion (from NT News).

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

A protester marches during an International Women’s Day rally in Melourne. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty. (from The Guardian)

BANGLADESH

Activists and garment workers shout slogans as they take part in a protest marking International Women’s Day in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photograph: MD Mehedi Hasan/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock. (from The Guardian)

CAMBODIA

A participant plays with a child as they attend a celebration to mark the International Women’s Day at Freedom Park in Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 8, 2024. The headband reads “Dignified life.” AP Photo/Heng Sinith (from AP News)

CHINA

Women in ethnic costumes dance at Lijiang ancient town in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, March 8, 2024. (Photo by Zhao Qingzu/Xinhua). (from the Peoples Daily Online)

HYDERABAD, INDIA


Hyderabad, India Fogto: Nadeem Khawar/EPA (from Renascença)

KOLKATA, INDIA

Maitree Network, a conglomerate of over 40 feminist organisations, display cultural street performances at Rabi Thakurer More (Ruby crossing) on International Women’s Day on Friday. (from Telegraph India)

INDONESIA


People carrying placards take part in a rally in Jakarta in support of women’s rights, calling for gender equality and the impeachment of Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo. Photograph: Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters. (from The Guardian)

JAPAN


Dozens of persons participate in the demonstration for International Women’s Day in Tokyo, Japan. FRANCK ROBICHON (EFE) (from El País)

Question related to this article:
 
Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

KAZAKHSTAN


In Kazakhstan, protesters denounced a nationwide epidemic of gender-based violence. (Frame from France 24 video).

KYRGYZSTAN


Women march on International Women’s Day in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Vladimir Voronin/AP (from NPR)

MALAYSIA


People shout slogans and carry placards during a women’s march in honour of International Women’s Day on March 9, 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (from Getty Images)

NORTH KOREA


Women in Pyongyang, North Korea, celebrate International Women’s Day. Won Jin/AFP (from Folha de S. Paulo)

KARACHI, PAKISTAN


Jamaat-e-Islami party activists demonstrate to mark International Women’s Day in Karachi, Pakistan. Photograph: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty. (from The Guardian)


LAHORE, PAKISTAN


Female supporters of the religious Jamaat-e-Islami party take part in a rally to mark International Women’s Day in Lahore, Pakistan.nPhotograph: KM Chaudary/AP. (from The Guardian)

PHILIPPINES

In the Philiippines women demanded an end to sexual harassment and wage discrimination.(from France 34)

SOUTH KOREA


Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions march at a rally in Seoul marking International Women’s Day. Photograph: Ahn Young-joon/AP (from The Guardian)

THAILAND


Bangkok, Thailand. Women dressed in pregnancy costumes march to Government House to highlight the meagre maternity leave for women in Thailand, set at eight days. Women’s groups are calling on the government to extend maternity leave to 120 days. Photograph: Lauren DeCicca/Getty (from The Guardian)

VIETNAM


From 7:00 a.m., thousands of people, pupils, students, officials, and city leaders were present on Nguyen Hue walking street to participate in ao dai performances to celebrate the International Women’s Day March 8 and the 10th anniversary of the Festival. Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai. (from VN Express)

International Women’s Day: Europe

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

A press survey by CPNN

In order to gather photos from the celebration of International Women’s Day, we put the following phrases into the google search engine:
° women’s day photos 2024
° Photos “Journée internationale de la femme” 2024
° Fotos”Día Internacional de la Mujer” 2024
° Fotos “Dia Internacional da Mulher” 2024

Here are the results from Europe.

ALBANIA


People take part in a protest in Tirana, Albania, March 8. REUTERS/Florion Goga, TIRANA, ALBANIA. (from Reuters)

BELGIUM


People take part in a demonstration in Brussels, Belgium, March 8. The sign in the middle reads: “Women give life and reap death.” REUTERS/Johanna Geron BRUSSELS, BELGIUM. (from Reuters)

LONDON, ENGLAND

Protesters dressed as handmaids from The Handmaid’s Tale hold placards reading “Woman Life Freedom” prior to a march from Parliament Square to Iran’s embassy to highlight repression of women in that country on March 8, 2024 in London, England. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images. (from The Citizen).

BORDEAUX, FRANCE


Demonstrators march for the International Women’s Day in Bordeaux, March 8, 2024, CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP. (from Le Monde)

PARIS, FRANCE


Women raise their fists during a demonstration in Paris for the International Women’s Day. TERESA SUÁREZ (EFE). (from El País)

TOULOUSE, FRANCE


Demonstrators march to support women’s rights on International Women’s Day in toulouse, France. Ed Jones/AFP. (from Folha de S.Paulo)

GERMANY


Berlin, Germany. People take part in a demonstration for better living and working conditions for women. Photograph: Christian Mang/AFP/Getty. (from The Guardian)

GREECE


Hundreds of people participated in a rally and march to mark International Women’s Day 2022 in Athens on Tuesday. Besides chanting slogans in support of women’s rights, participants also chanted against the war in Ukraine while a central banner called for the reinstitution of the General Secretariat for Equality.  Greece’s President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, also added her voice to mark the day in Parliament on Tuesday. Photo: Eurokinissi/Tatiana Bolari. (from the Greek Herald).

MILAN, ITALY



Students and activists wearing purple pañuelos (a symbol of the abortion-rights movements created in Argentina in 2003) congregate in Piazza del Duomo for a rally against patriarchy and violence, Photograph: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty. (from The Guardian)

ROME, ITALY


Women march together on International Women’s Day in the Italian capital, Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP. (from The Guardian)

KOSOVO


S’KI VEND N’KUVEND, THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US IN THE ASSEMBLY. Placard from demonstration on International Women’s Day in Kosovo. Frame from video of AP News

Question related to this article:
 
Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

LATVIA


Participants attend the Women’s Solidarity March in Riga, Latvia, 08 March 2024. During the March participants advocated the elimination of violence against women and domestic violence.. EPA-EFE/TOMS KALNINS. (from The Daily Maverick)

MALTA


Women shout slogans during a demonstration in Valletta, Malta, March 8. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/ VALLETTA, MALTA. (from Reuters)

MONTENEGRO

Women shout slogans during a march in Podgorica, Montenegro, March 8. REUTERS/Stevo Vasiljevic. PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO. (from Reuters)

NETHERLANDS


Forty-four pairs of red heels on Dam Square draw attention to murdered women who were the victims of domestic violence or revenge killings, Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Rex/Shutterstock. (from The Guardian)

PORTUGAL


Lisboa, Portugal Foto Carlos M. Almeida/lusa. (from Renascença)

ROMANIA


Women demonstrate for their rights in Bucarest, Romania, on Friday, International Women’s Day.VADIM GHIRDA AP/LAPRESSE. (from El País)

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

A soldier of the honor guard offers flowers to women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day in St Petersburg, Russia, Friday, March 8, 2024. DMITRI LOVETSKY/AP. (from Le Monde)

SERBIA

Detail of a placard at the demonstration for International Women’s Day in Belgrade, Serbia. DARKO VOJINOVIC AP/LAPRESSE. (from El País)

BARCELONA, SPAIN


Students march for equality at a demonstration in Barcelona. Photograph: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty. (from The Guardian)

MADRID, SPAIN


People holding candles take part in a protest in Madrid, Spain, March 8. REUTERS/Juan Medina. (from Reuters)

UKRAINE


Kyiv, Ukraine. Activists of different feminist and LGBTQ+ groups protest against sexism, patriarchy and the infringement of women’s rights in front of the department of education and science. Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA. (from The Guardian)


International Women’s Day 2024: ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress’ 

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from UN Women

In a world facing multiple crises that are putting immense pressure on communities, achieving gender equality is more vital than ever. Ensuring women’s and girls’ rights across all aspects of life is the only way to secure prosperous and just economies, and a healthy planet for future generations.  

One of the key challenges in achieving gender equality by 2030  is an alarming lack of financing  with a staggering USD 360 billion annual deficit in spending on gender-equality measures.  

The time for change is now! Join us on 8 March 2024 for International Women’s Day as we rally behind the call to “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”. 

Take a stand and join the conversation with the #InvestInWomen hashtag. Here are five key areas that need our joint action to ensure women are not left behind:

Investing in women: A human rights issue

Time is running out. Gender equality remains the greatest human rights challenge. Investing in women is a human rights imperative and cornerstone for building inclusive societies. Progress for women benefits us all.

(Click here for the article in French. or here for the article in Spanish.)

(continued in right column)

Question related to this article:
 
Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

(continued from left column)

Ending poverty 

The COVID pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, climate disasters, and economic turmoil have pushed an extra 75 million people into severe poverty, since 2020. This could lead to more than 342 million women and girls living below the poverty line  by 2030, making immediate action crucial. 
 
Implementing gender-responsive financing

Due to conflicts and rising fuel and food prices, recent estimates suggest that 75 per cent of countries will curb public spending by 2025. Austerity negatively impacts women and crowds out public spending on essential public services and social protection.

Shifting to a green economy and care society

The current economic system exacerbates poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation, disproportionately affecting women and marginalized groups. Advocates for alternative economic models propose a shift towards a green economy and care society  that amplifies women’s voices.

Supporting feminist change-makers

Feminist organizations are leading efforts to tackle women’s poverty and inequality. However, they are running on empty, receiving a meagre 0.13 per cent of total official development assistance

Get the facts

Dive into UN Women’s exclusive editorial package this International Women’s Day and discover the power of investing in women. Explore compelling stories, data, and strategies to drive positive change.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH!

This International Women’s Day, let’s come together to transform these challenges into opportunities and shape a better future for all! 

Proposal to the UN Summit of the Future from the International Alliance of Women

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

A submission on the UN Website for the Summit of the Future (abridged)

website: https://womenalliance.org/
President Alison Brown iawpresident@womenalliance.org
Secretary General Tunica Miranda Rosario iawsecgen@womenalliance.org

Chapeau

International Alliance of Women (IAW) is an international non-governmental organization in consultative status with ECOSOC since 1947. It firmly believes that a strengthened well-functioning United Nations, working on the basis of “trust, solidarity and universality” will be able to build peace through “multilateral cooperation and collective security” as well as advance economic independence for all.

Chapter I. Sustainable development and financing for development (not copied here)

Chapter II. International peace and security

IAW strongly supports the New Agenda for Peace and wishes to contribute constructively to Member States’ and civil societies’ deliberations in preparation for the *2024 Summit of the Future.*

At its 39th Triennial Congress 2022, IAW adopted a series of resolutions of relevance to the five priority areas, as they relate to a culture of peace, greenhouse gas emissions and the military as well as the necessary UN Security Council Reform.

Culture of Peace:

The 39th Congress affirming the commitment to secure and foster a global Culture of Peace by ensuring such a culture in the homes, communities, and between nations;

noting that global peace must be restored to ensure human security and sustainable development; is of the opinion that gender equality and women’s empowerment must be at the centre of the UN Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development so that future generations may thrive;

trusts in the spirit of respect, sharing, solidarity, non-violent conflict resolution, arbitration and reconciliation to be practiced in everyday life and promoted by peace education;

recalls the banner in front of the NGO peace tent in Huairou during the 4th UN World Conference on Women 1995 reading

“Change the Culture of War to a Culture of Peace

calls on the UN and all stakeholders to increase political and financial resources for social protection, prevention, and early intervention for girls and women of all ages and abilities affected by violence and conflict.

(Article continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Article continued from left column)

Greenhouse Effects and the Military:

The 39th Congress alarmed by global warming and the neglect of the greenhouse effect caused by the military

is of the opinion that the dangerous pollution caused by the military activities worldwide has to be formally recognized and made public. It is grotesque to scandalize the citizens’ footprints and to close one’s eyes in the face of the monstrous pollution caused by the military worldwide;

is deeply concerned about the fact that since the Kyoto protocol, 1997 (in force since 2005) through the Paris Climate Agreement, 2015 (in force since 2016) until today, the CO² and other climate relevant emissions caused by the military either in times of combat or in times of preparations for military activities is not included in the statistics of worldwide emissions;

believes that there will be no reduction and mitigation on the impact of climate change by the military without holistic and gender differentiated data and that it is particularly important to work on the basis of these data on the scientifically proven immense amount of emissions produced by the military;

is convinced that in order to save the planet and people’s survival and well-being, these statistics are needed to advocate for a profound change of people’s mindset and the military system.

Chapter III. Science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation (not copied here)

Chapter V. Transforming global governance

UNSC Reform:

The 39th Congress considering that the UN Security Council structure should be reformed as soon as possible on the basis of equal responsibilities and shared power;

is of the opinion that the UN General Assembly should urgently setup a task force mandated for creating structural changes of the UNSC in order to become operational and serving the UN Charter. This process should urgently come into force and produce a first draft in a timely manner;

calls on the UNGA, UNSG and this upcoming task force to change the structure in such a way that all UN member states will be in charge to keep, shape and sustain peace by shared and equal power of member states of all regions by alternating terms and in a balanced relation of regions. The veto powers’ rights must be eliminated;

further calls on the UNGA and the UNSG and all members states that this task force should discuss their proposals system wide within the UN and ensure that it shall be composed by 50 percent of women delegates and the stakeholders involved as experts shall be consisting of 50 percent of women, also young women, youth in general, indigenous women and men, vulnerable groups and minorities and citizens from regions under war shall be invited for contributions and listened to;

finally calls on the UNGA, the UNSG, the permanent and former and current non-permanent UNSC members and all member states, civil society and all stakeholders to support these efforts and donate resources and capacities for any support to this reforms end.

(Editor’s note: The International Alliance of Women was founded in 1902 as the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Legal Citizenship. At the present time its membership includes 43 women’s organizations in 32 countries.)

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The women leading the fight for peace in Palestine: Women in Black

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Open Democracy

On 4 October, thousands of women met in Jerusalem at an event led by the Israel-based Women Wage Peace and the Palestine-based Women of the Sun to discuss how to bring peace to the region. Three days later, one of the former group’s founding members, Canadian-Israeli activist Vivian Silver, was killed by Hamas in the deadliest attack on Israel in its 75-year history.

The women’s work has become much more difficult in the weeks since. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed in the attack and 160 taken hostage, more than 100 of whom are yet to be released. Israel has responded by reducing much of northern Gaza to rubble, killing 15,000 Palestinians and wounding 30,000 more.

Peace now seems a distant prospect. But the women have not given up hope. In a statement released on 14 October, Women Wage Peace said: “Every mother, Jewish and Arab, gives birth to her children to see them grow and flourish and not to bury them.


Branches of Women in Black lead silent vigils around the world to call for peace | Jesus Merida/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

“That’s why, even today, amid the pain and the feeling that the belief in peace has collapsed, we extend a hand in peace to the mothers of Gaza and the West Bank.”

As Siobhan Byrne of the University of Alberta later said: “This was undoubtedly a difficult statement to write through their grief and anguish.”

Both Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun are relatively recent movements for peace in the Middle East but another women-led group has been calling for Israelis to end the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza for 35 years.

Women in Black (WiB), a low-profile, remarkably persistent and very global movement, was launched in West Jerusalem in January 1988, prompted by the first intifada the previous year.

The group is distinctive in two main ways: firstly for the role of vigil in its fight for change and secondly, for its varying calls of witness, not just in war but more generally on violence against women.

Its protests often take the form of public vigils by small groups of women, dressed entirely in black, largely silent and bearing messages of their beliefs. The vigils are repeated, often on specific days of the week and in the same place, such as outside a mall or in a city square.

As for its calls of witness, they may vary with country or local circumstance, but they may have a common message of the need for peace, either in a specific conflict or on a generic issue, though they also extend to much more pervasive issues of gendered violence, both in time of war and in wider society.

Feminist activist and scholar Cynthia Cockburn, who was among the most persistent supporters of WiB, began to write a book on the history of the movement in February 2019. Though she sadly died later that year having written only the first five chapters, the book was completed, at her request, by Sue Finch, aided by copious files that Cockburn had left and by people in WiB groups from across the world.

(Article continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

(Article continued from left column)

Published earlier this year, Women in Black: Against Violence, for Peace with Justice tracks the development of the movement over more than three decades. It details how WiB is not a centrally organised entity but more a coalition of groups that snowballed across the world within six months of the movement’s start in Jerusalem.

Italian feminist activists, who had travelled to Israel and Palestine as part of a project called ‘Visiting Difficult Places’ in the late 1980s, joined WiB’s actions and took their approach back home. A feminist community in Belgrade, in what was then Federal Yugoslavia, in turn learned from them, and a similar approach evolved there. That group remained active throughout the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, bearing witness against the Bosnian and Kosovo wars.

Over time, WiB spread to Colombia, Germany, India, South Africa, Argentina and more than a dozen other countries spanning five continents, and nine international WiB conferences took place.

Introducing the book, Cynthia Cockburn summed up the movement’s evolution over the years, describing the differences between the various groups that had sprung up. “For some, especially those living through war,” she wrote, “theories about the relationship between gender and militarism are the most vital.

“Other women, living in relative peacetime choose combating male violence against individual women, and campaigning for the right to abortion, contraception and control over their own bodies, as the centre of their activism.

“The theories that connect Women in Black across the world, as a result, include the continuum of violence against women, and a causal relationship between gender and war.”

Women in Black is not a rigid centrally organised movement but has considerable autonomy between countries and branches. Any group of women in any part of the world may organise a vigil and while that is the most common action, responses may also involve nonviolent direct action at military bases or simply refusing to comply with orders.

A uniting feature is the value of the sense of solidarity, with women in one branch in a particular country knowing that if they bear witness to a particular happening or circumstance such as a specific conflict or incident of repression, they will be acting alongside a group in the country and also o9thersw across the world.

Because of its structure, the numbers involved in WiB may vary. Writing on its website, the movement gives one example: “When Women in Black in Israel/Palestine, as part of a coalition of Women for a Just Peace, called for vigils in June 2001 against the Occupation of Palestinian lands, at least 150 WiB groups across the world responded… The organisers estimate that altogether 10,000 women may have been involved.”

In recent years, Cockburn’s own writings, including on global disarmament and women peacemakers, have been highly influential. She worked in many regions of tension and conflict – including Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Israel/Palestine, Cyprus, South Korea, Spain and the UK – on a wide range of projects primarily focused on gender, war and peace-making.

Her work was paralleled by many years of activism, much of it stemming from an early visit to the Greenham Common women’s peace camp in 1980, and in 1993 she was heavily involved in establishing Women in Black in London. This book is certainly a very valuable contribution as a hugely informative account of the growth of what is now a worldwide movement but it is also a fitting remembrance of Cynthia Cockburn, a remarkable person.

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Graça Machel: Enhancing women’s participation in peacebuilding is key to building a peaceful world

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from The Elders

At the 5th International Conference on Action with Women and Peace, hosted by the Republic of Korea on 30 November 2023, Graça Machel  discussed the importance of women’s leadership as an essential component of peacebuilding and called on leaders to prioritise women’s inclusion at decision-making tables. 


Photo Credit: Tlhabi Monnakgotla

Read Graça Machel’s speech

Greetings to Foreign Minister Park Jin, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am grateful to the organizing committee of the ‘5th International Conference on Action with Women and Peace’ for the invitation to address this important convening highlighting the crucial role of women as catalysts for peace. I commend the Republic of Korea for your focus on the Women, Peace and Security agenda as you take up a seat on the UN Security Council next year. 

I join you today from my native country of Mozambique, and am honoured to share a few words with you on behalf of my fellow Elders.

As we know, it has been 23 years since the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1325, which set forth a framework mandating women’s meaningful inclusion in peace processes. And yet over two decades later, women are still shockingly in a small minority at negotiating tables worldwide. This is despite the overwhelming evidence which demonstrates that women’s participation is key to ending violence as well as the success and longevity of peace processes. 

As we convene today, we see conflict and war raging around the world: from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to the brutal Israeli Occupation of Palestine and horrific siege on Gaza, to civil strife in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Myanmar, to name but a few. 

Escalating arms races, increased investments in miliary expenditure, and war mongering narratives are dominating politics on a global scale. All this alongside a deepening of toxic patriarchal norms and reversal of generational gains made in women’s rights – with gender-based violence, military aggression, and militarised responses to political problems on the rise.
 
With so many seeds of destruction being sown the world over, it may feel as though we are headed for complete self-destruction as a human family. There is a silver lining, however: Women and youth are an untapped reservoir as powerful agents for change and for peace. They are the effective force as mediators, negotiators, and peace builders we need.  A more inclusive approach to peace making and peacebuilding must be made a priority by world leaders if we are ever to stand a chance of advancing as a human family.

(Article continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Article continued from left column)

Let us focus on women’s agency. Women are not only victims of war, but brave survivors and often leaders of peacebuilding efforts across the dividing lines of conflict; at great risk to their own safety and security. 

I have seen over and over again—in all corners of the world—the power of women and women’s organizations to bring serenity to spaces of extreme contention.

Women are innate bridge builders. They offer a natural capacity to listen, to empathize, and to allow vulnerability to surface. They bring a unique human perspective to the hardened dynamics of war. 

I know firsthand, from my own peacebuilding work in Africa how, when given the respect and platform, women can play an influential role in shaping peace accords and their implementation. They often make sure peace agreements reach to the heart of discord, beyond the competing demands of ego-driven politics. Women mediators and negotiators play a key role in helping to understand root causes of conflict, which then leads to more comprehensive problem solving and a lasting peace.

I have witnessed how women also lay the foundation for the necessary social cohesion in peacebuilding. They think strategically with the long-term end game of a better life for our children and a brighter future for generations to come in mind.

In every corner of the globe, there are great examples of the powerful way in which women have contributed to peace building through their leadership. We must insist, again and again, on the right of women to participate fully and on equal terms with men in conflict resolution and peace-building processes. 


 It is also women who are the first to shine the spotlight on the gendered impacts of war. They raise the alarm the loudest around sexual abuse and gender-based violence and the moral imperative to end these scourges.

This includes work to prevent and address sexual violence as a weapon of war.  The Elders support a survivor-led approach, with survivors’ experiences, rights and needs at the centre of responses to this horrific practice. 
As both history and current affairs show us, it is to our own collective detriment, when women are absent from formal decision-making tables. 

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It must remain our guiding star in addressing all issues of women, peace, and security.

Let it be a reminder that prioritizing women’s inclusion in peacemaking is a global responsibility. Enhancing women’s participation in peacebuilding and conflict prevention, resolution, and post-conflict processes must be the new order of the day.

I urge us all here to find meaningful ways to develop women’s political leadership and ensure women are seated at the main negotiation and decision-making tables, in their capacities as experts, civil society leaders, scholars, lawyers, human rights advocates–in all their professional diversity. 


We have the most influential of weapons right here in our midst: the power of female leadership. The time is now to act. We must finance, defend, and protect women peace-builders to do their vital work to prevent and resolve conflict.  Any hope we have a for a peaceful and just world, for ourselves and for future generations, depends on it.

I thank you.

Watch Graça Machel’s speech online.